Category: News
August 8, 2023-First Day of School!
Our First Day of School is Tuesday, August 8, a half day. School will begin at 7:45 AM and end at noon. Please have your child bring a water bottle and also a snack. There will be no lunch on Tuesday, August 8 as it is a noon dismissal.
Watch the Virtual Blessing of the Animals!
St. Anthony School traditionally celebrates the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with a blessing of our family pets on campus. This year we honored this tradition virtually!Families submitted photos of their pets and Fr. Roel did a virtual blessing of all our pets! Please enjoy this FUN FILLED video!
“Yappy” Feast of St. Francis!
Ring Your Bell for Peace Day!
Today, September 21st, St. Anthony School celebrated Peace Day by taking part in “Ring Your Bell for Peace Day.” The organizers of this event, Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, invited young people from around the world to partake in this celebration.
Joining with churches, schools and individuals from across the state, country and other nations, 7th Grader, Samantha Diaz and 8th Grader, Tori Peterson, watched the virtual opening ceremony on zoom. The ceremony began at 12:00PM with Bishop Eric Matsumoto of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, who led a minute of silence, honoring all those who have sacrificed for the achievement of peace. At 12:01PM Samantha and Tori began to ring the St Anthony Church bell for 5 continuous minutes. The sound of the bells ringing was a reminder for all who heard them to work towards peace.
The students were able to participate in a world peace initiative centered on youth as leaders of peace in our world. The rest of the school were able to join in from their classrooms as the church bell’s tone peeled loudly across the campus and beyond!
It was a great idea and the organizers hope to continue it each year. May we be inspired by the efforts of the Buddhist Temples of Honpa Hongwanji Mission and Bishop Larry Silva to live with kindness, respect, peace and Aloha.
Let’s Keep Our SAS Warriors Safe & Healthy!
Here’s A Sneak Peak at Some of Our New Signage that You Will See Around Campus!
SAS Faculty & Staff Miss You!
Please enjoy this little video from your teachers and staff
at St. Anthony School to you as we share our ALOHA to our ohana.
St. Anthony School Faculty and Staff want you to know
that you are really special and that we all MISS YOU so much.
School is not the same without you here and your teachers miss your laughter,
your questions, your smiles, your bright insights, and much more.
We are looking forward to the time that we can all be together again.
We want you to know that we are all so proud of you….our St. Anthony School Warriors.
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross by the Students of 5th Grade
COVID-19 UPDATE: “In Person” Classes Postponed through April 30, 2020
Covid-19 Update:
Distance Learning Begins on Monday, March 30, 2020
“In Person” Classes Postponed through Thursday, April 30, 2020
Dr. Mike Rockers, Superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools, has just released this updated directive on our response to the Covid-19 emergency.
Due to our social responsibility, and in solidarity with our State leaders,
all parochial schools will extend the postponement of “in-person” classes through
Thursday, April 30, 2020.
For Saint Anthony School, this means that distance learning will continue through that date. Dr. Rockers has been very impressed with the quality of the distance learning programs being implemented throughout our school system. I am very grateful to teachers who are working hard to implement successful distance learning, and to school families for their commitment to spiritual and academic learning in this new form of instruction.
Distance Learning Begins on Monday, March 30 2020.
Teachers will be posting assignments to the FACTS Family (formerly RenWeb.) If you have not logged into the Family Portal, you can connect to it through the tab, FACTS Family Online, at the top of our schoolʻs website: saskailua.org/facts-family-
SAS Science Fair 2020
The St. Anthony Middle School Seventh and Eighth Grade Science Fair showcased a variety of interesting projects and experiments that the students had worked on over the course of several months. The students investigated, experimented and researched on topics of their interest. Working independently or in groups, the students followed the Scientific Method to form their hypothesis, experiments, research reports, and models. The display boards, experiment materials, and engineering models were on display for the school students and reviewed by the judges. Students stood by their boards to discuss their projects and to answer questions. All projects were aligned to NGSS standards which included an engineering component. At Parent Night, the students also had a chance to share their projects.
The winning projects moved on to the District Science Fair at Hanalani School held on Saturday, February 15, 2020. Congratulations to all the teams; Honorable Mention: Hi’ipoi Nicely Akana and Emma Lee. Team 1: Sarah Pacheco, Noelle Mello, Jacob Moore. Team 2: Bella Benedetto and Reef Straley. Team 3; William O’Donnell, Reagan Cabias, and Evan Little.
At the District Fair, Team 1: Jacob Moore, Sarah Pacheco, and Noelle Mello finished 1st in the Category of Bio-Medical and Health Sciences; and Team 3: William O’Donnell, Reagan Cabias, and Evan Little, also finished 1st in the Category of Engineering and Mechanics, and also won the overall Fourth Place from over 130 projects. These two winning teams will move on to the State Science Fair.
Congratulations to all the students who inspired us with their projects!
St. Anthony Student Wins Windward District Spelling Bee
St. Anthony School was well represented by two students at the Windward District Spelling Bee held at St. Ann’s School on February 10, 2020. Taylor Chun (8th grader) and Zxyrhy Esperon (7th Grader), finalists in the school’s Spelling Bee joined other Windward public and private schools tackling not only spelling words but also the added requirement of knowing the definition of difficult vocabulary words! Both students did a great job!
Zxyrhy ended up outspelling all the competition and was declared the winner in the 26th round. This was her second trip to the district competition having been a finalist last year as well. Good spellers seem to run in families as Taylor’s sister, Cameron (10th grader at Punahou), was St. Anthony’s past district winner and she was present to cheer the SAS team on. Zxyrhy was well-prepared having studied many hours and weeks for the contest and was a tough competitor despite her calm demeanor and soft-spoken manner. After being declared the winner, she broke into a big smile and was presented with a trophy, lei and applause from all the competitors and their families. Congratulations and best of luck as you move on to the State Spelling Bee!
Two SAS Teachers Recognized for Twenty Years of Service
At the Annual Conference for Catholic Educators (ACCE) two teachers from St. Anthony School were recognized and honored for Twenty Years of Service as Catholic educators. Ms. Claire Shannon has been a Preschool teacher teaching three-year-olds and Mr. Gier “Kepa” Stern has been teaching music, band and serving as the music liturgist for the past twenty years. They were honored at ACCE following the Mass with all the schools and are pictured here holding their congratulatory 20 years of teaching certificates. They were cheered on by the SAS faculty who also printed large pictures of the recipients which the faculty waved, we were able to share our aloha and appreciation to these two special teachers.
Read the tributes about Ms. Shannon and Mr. Stern that were shared with the students during the CSW Talent Show.
Claire Shannon
The song “Christ Be Our Light” is associated with our next honoree. Ms. Claire Shannon has been Christ’s light in the lives of thousands of preschoolers over her 20+ years in Catholic education.
Ms. Shannon got her start at Saint Ann’s in Kaneohe, before beginning her rise to fame at Saint Anthony School Kailua in 1999. Since then, she has been a beacon of light for both her students and her peers. Claire truly personifies Christ’s love for children. Even when they are “all grown up”, her students return to her classroom as helpers, volunteers, or just to stop in and say “hi.” Whether she is helping parents deal with separation anxiety, lending her time and support to innumerable school committees and events, or entertaining us all with her songs, funny stories, and welcoming spirit, her classroom is a fun place to be!
Using her trademark quote St. Anthony School would like to “PRAISE THE LORD!” for Ms. Claire Shannon!
Gier “Kepa” Stern (Gier rhymes with Tire)
Just the mere mention of Mr. Gier “Kepa” Stern’s name can bring on gut-wrenching, thigh-slapping, tear-producing laughter. Mr. Stern has been a living legend throughout his 20 years at Saint Anthony School in Kailua. Music is in his spirit and in his soul, which is evident in his teaching and in the silliness, fun, and joyful noises that are Music class at Saint Anthony’s.
Kepa has been a musician since his childhood when he would make music using anything and everything he could find (pots, pans, the couch, etc.) He shares with his students that he used to lay in bed at night and listen to the sounds of his house and neighborhood.
Mr. Stern wears many, many hats at Saint Anthony’s. As the Band and Choir director, Kepa has played a huge role in helping students share their musical talents through different performances such as the Christmas Program, Choral Festival, and May Day. He also shares much of his time and beautiful talent as the Music Ministry Director, vocalist, and pianist for Saint Anthony Church.
Prior to his “school gig”, Kepa started his professional music career right out of high school, as the trombone player for Liz Damon and the Orient Express. He continued to play the trombone as an enlisted member of the United States Army. Upon his return home, he was a longtime musician in Waikiki, even performing with a youngster named Peter H., who recently found his “24 Karat Magic In the Air”.
Kepa embodies the spirit of service, love, fellowship, and joy…all the qualities of a wonderful Catholic School educator. He very often goes above and beyond his call of duty, with his trademark response of “Whatever you need.” He is beloved by students and parents, and is famous for being the OPPOSITE of his last name…..Stern!
